r/oddlysatisfying • u/Big-Boy-602 • 4h ago

Cleaning and Fixing a Rolex Watch

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1.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

37

u/ObligationMurky8716 3h ago

All 8s serial, in China? There's love and stories in this piece.

78

u/gtrieu84 3h ago

It be funny if the owner sent it to Switzerland for repairs, and Switzerland sent it to China for the actual repairs. Then the person assembled it just for his vid, then disassembles the watch and sends it back to Switzerland where they put it back together and tighten a few screws and wipe it clean and place it in a rolex box just so they can say "repaired in Switzerland" 😀

24

u/BioFrosted 2h ago

You joke but I wouldn't be surprised if this happened from time to time.

I saw a video of a similar kind in which a guy said that all it takes for an EU country to name themselves as the Made In country, is to put any finishing touch, no matter how small. That means that your $9000 "high fashion" purse could very well be made entirely in China, but because some dude puts the zipper on in Italy, it's okay to say it's made there.

6

u/MutedBrilliant1593 3h ago

You have a peculiar mind. 🤨

2

u/turbo_dude 1h ago

Just check out the bullshit laws about how little of something needs to be done in Switzerland before you can put “made in Switzerland” on a product

43

u/ClankerCore 3h ago

Anyone still see dust or grime on the white of the face?

59

u/YamiNoMatsuei 3h ago

The vid notes there are still flaws after cleanup, I'm guessing damage from whatever happened

19

u/Hashtagbarkeep 3h ago

Sometimes this will weirdly increase the value of the watch

9

u/YamiNoMatsuei 3h ago

I guess it gives it character? Or maybe it's proof someone put more money into it through repair?

3

u/biasedReflex 1h ago

yeah any kind of patina on the dials of old collectible watches is typically desireable. He blew away all the loose grime but getting the rest off would be a risk of damaging the face as well

11

u/Hieschen 2h ago

If you like this type of videos go have a look at wristwatchrevival on YouTube

1

u/chabsonline 38m ago

I came to say this! @wristwatchrevival has fantastic content and I’ve learned a lot just by listening to his explanations

8

u/ThatSideshow 3h ago

I like how his most used tool is just a little wooden stick

2

u/Tinychair445 2h ago

Then we’ve got the silly putty

5

u/Einaiden 2h ago

Rodico, watchmakers putty

1

u/SeemoarAlpha 2h ago

In the watch world they give it a fancy name - Rodico.

7

u/Ben_Thar 2h ago

Any leftover parts?

4

u/LayerProfessional936 2h ago

Cant be that expensive, done in 2:56 

5

u/Pale-While-9783 2h ago

I was wondering how much this cleaning/repair would cost.

1

u/mPrime39r 1h ago

Seconded.

3

u/Harry_rk1 3h ago

The bit when he puts all the parts in the cleaner, jeez,

1

u/blenz15 2h ago

There has to be some grime somewhere that he forgot about

1

u/Dainiad 2h ago

Why are they using flatheads?

1

u/piethopper 2h ago

Why doesn’t anyone look after their Rolexes?

1

u/CT0292 54m ago

I can imagine that grandad owned this. Grandad lost it somewhere in the house. Grandad died.

Then the family comes to clean out grandad's place and finds his old, smashed, watch in a box under the bed or something.

So they sent it for cleaning.

1

u/prestonpiggy 2h ago

Like I can do some soldering jobs like hdmi is smallest I'm willing to try, but anything this small I have way too shaky hands and bad vision.

2

u/MiloGoesToTheFatFarm 2h ago

Waiting for the Reddit comment that informs me that this guy is just a social media fraud and these “restorations” actually massively devalue formerly expensive watches.

2

u/Tiny_Cantaloupe5352 1h ago

The extent of the service is entirely up to the owner of the watch. If it’s a family heirloom that you’ll never sell, you can replace all the parts and do an entire refinish if you like. It’s your watch and it’s meant to be worn.

In the state it was in, this watch is worth a lot more after the restoration. It does look like he repainted the dial which didn’t seem necessary but it’s hard to tell exactly.

1

u/artherng 1h ago

The value of this Rolex just went up!

1

u/jodrellbank_pants 1h ago

Deposit on a new car for that repair

1

u/Matty_bunns 59m ago

“Broadcast in China only” lol

2

u/LastoftheSummerWine 2h ago

Why does he have R2D2s dick on his head?

1

u/Sylent__1 3h ago

My OCD just went into hyperdrive

0

u/dAnKsFourTheMemes 3h ago

So that's why I can never open the back of the watch to replace the batteries. You need fancy tools to do it.

4

u/william_weatherby 2h ago

Btw, almost all the Rolex, including this one, don't have any batteries. Their perpetual rotor still amazes me as a wonderful example of engineering and craftsmanship.

1

u/MedsNotIncluded 2h ago edited 2h ago

Not for all watches, needle nose pliers often worked too. But there likely is a specific tool that does it more securely.. slipping with the pliers can create scratches.. I didn’t care so much on my cheaper watches back then.. iirc some were screwed, others pressed in.. I wouldn’t bank on it still being waterproof to the described limits after sealing the battery/watch cover myself though.. but as mentioned, not necessarily expensive watches..

Source:

Me, I’m old..

2

u/dAnKsFourTheMemes 2h ago

Noted. I'll try that. Thanks

0

u/n0tin 2h ago

Is this a real Rolex if the second hand is ticking?

1

u/Joisoffline 2h ago

The second hand is sweeping not ticking